Senior Systems Engineer - TS/SCI w/Poly

Location: Annapolis Junction, MD 
Clearance: TS/SCI with Polygraph required 
Work Type: On-site (with customer-approved flexibility)

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly experienced Systems Engineer to lead the planning and execution of complex systems engineering efforts for large-scale, mission-critical programs. This role requires a seasoned professional capable of managing programs of significant scope and complexity, particularly those involving high-volume data processing and distributed storage solutions.
The Systems Engineer will serve as a technical lead, driving the design, integration, and optimization of systems while ensuring full compliance with security and policy directives. This position is ideal for a strategic thinker who excels in cross-functional environments and has a deep background in both COTS/GOTS integration and custom distributed algorithms.

Key Responsibilities

System Design & Leadership

• Lead and manage comprehensive Systems Engineering efforts, overseeing the full lifecycle from requirements gathering to deployment.
• Develop and refine system performance, availability, scalability, manageability, and security requirements for mid-to-large scale programs.
• Plan and integrate secure, compliant solutions based on legal, policy, and federal compliance directives.
• Lead agile and/or spiral development models to ensure iterative delivery of high-quality system components.

Data & Storage Engineering

• Architect and optimize storage, retrieval, backup, and retention strategies across globally distributed, high-throughput multimedia systems.
• Design and implement storage area networks (SAN), data warehouses, and data marts.
• Develop and deploy storage solutions within clustered or cloud environments, including the development of distributed storage routing and querying algorithms.
• Work with internals of HDFS, Hadoop, and/or HBase/Accumulo (Big Table) to manage massive datasets.

Integration & Technical Operations

• Integrate and extend COTS and GOTS products from multiple vendors into cohesive system architectures.
• Oversee ingest and processing systems for large volumes of multimedia and multilingual content, ensuring seamless audio playback and object retrieval for end users.
• Manage distributed peer-to-peer content storage and retrieval systems with scales exceeding 500 nodes.
• Utilize metadata indexing, summarization, data mining, and visualization analytics to enhance system utility.

Collaboration & Documentation

• Serve as a primary technical lead interacting with users and participating in cross-Integrated Product Team (IPT) environments.
• Develop high-level technical documentation for system issues, architectural changes, and user training.
• Ensure all system engineering processes are documented to maintain rigorous federal standards.

Required Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI clearance with Polygraph.
• 20+ years of related systems engineering experience on programs of similar scope, type, and complexity.
• Bachelor’s degree in System Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering Science, Engineering Management, or a related discipline.
  • Five (5) additional years of SE experience may be substituted for a bachelor’s degree.
• Demonstrated experience in planning and leading large-scale Systems Engineering efforts.
• Deep technical proficiency in distributed storage, HADOOP ecosystems, and high-throughput content systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven track record in metadata data mining and visualization analytics.
• Expertise in optimizing globally distributed text and multimedia retrieval systems.
• Experience integrating complex COTS/GOTS solutions within the Intelligence Community (IC).
• Strong background in legal and policy compliance for secure data environments.

Benefits

This position includes a competitive and flexible benefits package, including:

• Paid Time Off: PTO accrues at a rate of 13% of hours worked, which equals approximately 6 weeks, or 30 days, per year for a typical full-time employee.
• PTO Carryover: Up to 240 hours of PTO may be carried over from year to year.
• Retirement Contribution: 15% automatic company 401(k) contribution, including 3% safe harbor and 12% profit sharing/company discretionary contribution.
• 401(k) Vesting: No vesting period.
• Payroll Contributions: Employer 401(k) contributions are deposited every payroll.
• 401(k) Options: Pre-tax and Roth 401(k) contributions are available.
• PTO and Retirement Flexibility: Employees may have flexibility to adjust PTO and 401(k) contributions based on personal preferences, with appropriate pay rate offsets.
• Medical Insurance: Medical insurance available with significant company contribution.
• Medical Plan Options: Options include a CareFirst BlueChoice Advantage Platinum Plan with $0 deductible and a CareFirst BlueChoice Advantage High Deductible Plan with HSA.
• HSA Contribution: For employees enrolled in the High Deductible Plan, the company contributes 1/4 of the deductible to the employee’s HSA quarterly.
• Dental Insurance: CareFirst BlueDental Plus.
• Vision Insurance: CareFirst BlueVision Plus.
• Health Savings Account: Employees enrolled in the High Deductible Plan may contribute additional funds to an HSA up to IRS limits.
• Flexible Spending Account: Medical FSA contribution limit of $3,200 per year.
• Dependent Care FSA: Dependent Care FSA contribution limit of $5,000 per year for married couples filing jointly.
• Flexible Schedule: Flexible or alternate work schedules may be available as long as customer approval is received.
• Life Insurance: $50,000 life insurance and $50,000 AD&D coverage, paid by the company.
• Short-Term Disability: Coverage of 60% of pay, up to $1,000 per week, paid by the company.
• Long-Term Disability: Coverage of 60% of pay, up to $6,000 per month, paid by the company.
• Education and Training: Up to $5,000 per any twelve-month period for approved training, courses, books, materials, online courses, college courses, seminars, conferences, travel, and related costs.
• Company Apparel Allowance: $100 per calendar year toward company logo apparel.

Why This Role?

This position provides the opportunity to steer the technical direction of high-impact programs involving massive-scale data and distributed architectures. It is designed for a senior leader who thrives on solving "Big Data" challenges and navigating the complexities of mission-critical government systems.
We do not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, or military service.